MOMBASA

The trek to Mombasa: 15 hour overnight bus (Arusha --> Nairobi --> Mombasa) arriving at 7am Friday morning, 20 min dala dala - basically a van that has many seats drilled into the flooring which serves as a bus (called matatu in Kenyan swahili) to the port, 10 min ferry ride across to Likoni island, 30 min matatu to Tiwi Road, then 15 min taxi ride to Twiga Lodge on Tiwi Beach.

So picture a deserted beach with white sand that's super fine and soft and water that's blue and turquoise with the palm tree leaves rustling in the breeze.

That is Tiwi Beach.

We stayed in cabanas with thatched roofs that had an ocean view. Only about 150 yds from the beach, we had the luck of coming in the tourist offseason and in addition to landing an amazing price (the equivalent of $7/night), we had the entire place (and beach) to ourselves. I traveled with four of my girl friends on the program, and we spent our days lying on the beach, floating in the ocean and eating mangos with lime juice drizzled on them (we bought 5 mangos, one watermelon and 3 limes for $2 on the side of the road as we drove up to the lodge). I was in heaven, mostly because I haven't seen the beach (or even a swimming pool) in six weeks, which is altogether WAY too long for me.

Mombasa the city is a loud, crowded, and bustling atmosphere. It is much more Muslim than Arusha (as we realized when we got our impromptu 4am wakeup call with the sirens going off in the mosques), and much more developed, which makes sense for a port city. Although they all speak Swahili, English is the language of choice, you regularly see brand new cars driving down the streets and $6 will get you 600 Kenyan shillings vs 6,000 TZ shillings.

On Sunday, we had the luck of finding a bus that only took 7 hours vs. 15 (more direct route), and now (Monday morning) I am mentally prepping to move into my new homestay!! Next weekend, I will let you know how movein and my first week in my new village goes. Until then, kwa heri!